The Consultation Letters of Dr William Cullen (1710-1790) at the Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh
[ID:593] From: Dr William Cullen (Professor Cullen) / To: Mr John Short / Regarding: Mr Thomas Smith (Patient) / 1 July 1782 / (Outgoing)
Reply, 'Mr Short C[oncerning] Mr Smith', discussing Mr Smith's loss of memory, fatuity, and hemiplegia.
- Facsimile
- Normalized Text
- Diplomatic Text
- Metadata
- Case
- People
- Places
Facsimile
There are 2 images for this document.
[Page 1]
[Page 2]
Metadata
| Field | Data |
|---|---|
| DOC ID | 593 |
| RCPE Catalogue Number | CUL/1/1/15/78 |
| Main Language | English |
| Document Direction | Outgoing |
| Date | 1 July 1782 |
| Annotation | None |
| Type | Machine copy |
| Enclosure(s) | No enclosure(s) |
| Autopsy | No |
| Recipe | No |
| Regimen | No |
| Letter of Introduction | No |
| Case Note | No |
| Summary | Reply, 'Mr Short C[oncerning] Mr Smith', discussing Mr Smith's loss of memory, fatuity, and hemiplegia. |
| Manuscript Incomplete? | No |
| Evidence of Commercial Posting | No |
Case
Cases that this document belongs to:
| Case ID | Description | Num Docs |
|---|---|---|
| [Case ID:1032] |
Case of Mr Thomas Smith who is feverish and 'fatuous' and then suffers a paralytic stroke. |
6 |
People linked to this document
| Person ID | Role in document | Person |
|---|---|---|
| [PERS ID:1] | Author | Dr William Cullen (Professor Cullen) |
| [PERS ID:671] | Addressee | Mr John Short |
| [PERS ID:2973] | Patient | Mr Thomas Smith |
| [PERS ID:671] | Patient's Physician / Surgeon / Apothecary | Mr John Short |
| [PERS ID:1] | Patient's Physician / Surgeon / Apothecary | Dr William Cullen (Professor Cullen) |
Places linked to this document
| Role in document | Specific Place | Settlements / Areas | Region | Country | Global Region | Confidence |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Place of Writing | Cullen's House / Mint Close | Edinburgh | Edinburgh and East | Scotland | Europe | certain |
| Destination of Letter | Bo'ness (Borness / Borrowstouneness) | Mid Scotland | Scotland | Europe | certain |
Normalized Text
Mr Short Concerning Mr Smith
I have sometimes seen fatuity and
loss of memory without compression but it is generally to
be suspected and in the present case it has discovered it¬
self by coming to a greater degree and producing the Hemi¬
plegia. I think the state of the pulse and other circum¬
stances shew the compression to be of the serous kind,
which the difficult is neither so difficult or dangerous
as the sanguine. The measures I would propose are
first blistering the whole head and every third day after¬
wards blistering in other places as on the arm, thigh
and leg. In the intervals ↑of↑ these and therefore every third
day I would purge with a dram of pulv. Jalap. comp. or
if that is not sufficient for four or five stools the dose
must be larger. Every night at bedtime let him take a
dose of dried squills as a diuretic. You may begin with
half a grain but increase it to what his stomach will
bear without vomiting or much sickness. The dose may
[Page 2]
be in pills or powder as you shall find convenient and
you may add some aromatic and some nitre as your
formula shall best admit. If neither pill nor powder
shall be convenient you may employ the Acetum &
Syr. Scilliticus in mixture. In short I am for treating
the case by purgatives and diuretics as if it were
hydropic and the state of the urine will generally show
what progress you make by remedies. I do not find
that ever Electricity does much in general affections and
at least never in recent cases. I do not say that it is
never to be employed in this case but say it must be
deferred for a little. If you shall be pleased to give
me a report of the trials I have proposed I shall ad¬
cise further as well as I can. I am always
Edinburgh July 1st
1782
Diplomatic Text
Mr Short C Mr Smith
I have sometimes seen fatuity and
loss of memory without compression but it is generally to
be suspected and in the present case it has discovered it¬
self by coming to a greater degree and producing the Hemi¬
plegia. I think the state of the pulse and other circum¬
stances shew the compression to be of the serous kind,
which the difficult is neither so difficult or dangerous
as the sanguine. The measures I would propose are
first blistering the whole head and every third day after¬
wards blistering in other places as on the arm, thigh
and leg. In the intervals ↑of↑ these and therefore every third
day I would purge with a dram of pulv. Jalap. comp. or
if that is not sufficient for four or five stools the dose
must be larger. Every night at bedtime let him take a
dose of dried squills as a diuretic. You may begin with
half a grain but increase it to what his stomach will
bear without vomiting or much sickness. The dose may
[Page 2]
be in pills or powder as you shall find convenient and
you may add some aromatic and some nitre as your
formula shall best admit. If neither pill nor powder
shall be convenient you may employ the Acetum &
Syr. Scilliticus in mixture. In short I am for treating
the case by purgatives and diuretics as if it were
hydropic and the state of the urine will generally show
what progress you make by remedies. I do not find
that ever Electricity does much in general affections and
at least never in recent cases. I do not say that it is
never to be employed in this case but say it must be
deferred for a little. If you shall be pleased to give
me a report of the trials I have proposed I shall ad¬
cise further as well as I can. I am always
Edinr. July 1st
1782
XML
XML file not yet available.
Feedback
Send us specfic feeback about this document [DOC ID:593]
Please note that the Cullen Project team have now disbanded but your comments will be logged in our system and we will look at them one day...
